Relationship between Service Blue Print Dimension and Customer Satisfaction in the Insurance Industry in Kenya

Abstract

The Insurance industry has lately been associated with financial steadiness, security of government programs, enhancing trade and overall growth of a national economy. The industry however continues to experience very low penetration. Kenya has a penetration rate of 2.3% compared to South Africa’s rate of 7.6%. Insurance firms in Kenya are under considerable pressure from their customers and the regulator to invest in service blue print as a measure of analysing the impact of their service quality which is a result of their service innovations and enhanced processes or systems which are supposed to improve customer satisfaction and hence profitability. This study analysed the relationship between service blue print dimension and customer satisfaction in the insurance industry in Kenya. The study adopted a causal research design. The unit of analysis was 17 licensed composite insurance companies in Kenya with a unit of observation of 400 policy holders sourced from insurance company records. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire which was self-administered. R-Gui was the main statistical software. The study applied the linear mixed-effect models of structural equation modelling (SEM) considering the multi-level structure of the data collected. A significant fixed effect coefficient estimate of 0.154 was established, implying that increasing the levels of service blue printing as perceived by a customer by one unit would result into an increase in the level of Customer Satisfaction by 0.154. The study concluded that a client who perceives efficient and effective service processes from his/ her insurer is bound to have higher satisfaction than a customer who does not perceive efficient and effective service processes from their insurer. Service blue printing however, does not significantly affect the variations of customer satisfaction between the insurance companies. The study recommends that insurance industry firms invest in service blue prints as a strategy of achieving maximum customer satisfaction. Service blue print will improve interactions between customers and service providers by acting as a service lens and they should be developed as a service innovation technique that may enable discovery of potential innovations that may have otherwise been overlooked. The insurance company can adopt service blue print as a benchmark for accreditation standards.